The Siege of Canterlot (novel)
The Siege of Canterlot is the fourth full-length novel in the Tale of the Valkyrie series, and the first crossover work with both Friendship is Magic and the fanwork Fall of Equestria. Plot Summary In the year 21 ABE, Equestria has been overthrown by a race of patriarchal caribou and suffered under their misogynstic rule for over five years. Subjected to a great deal of physical and psychological torment, much of the Equestrian people are too broken to resist anymore and have long since disavowed the rule of the Princesses. Due to a previous marriage between one Princess and Ascentia Sparkle, the Val'kyr have been strongarmed into sparking a liberation movement, with Luna as the main figurehead of the rebellion. Notable Developments *''The Siege of Canterlot'' marks the first appearance of Dawning Wind, Ascentia's granddaughter. *This is the first mention of Lord Ryder's disdain for the male gender. *This is the first time Armageddon's full power is ever utilized. *This is the first appearance of Cerebral Rewriting as the Val'kyr use it to forcibly undo Stonehoof brainwashing. *This is the first appearance of Sutanu. Development The Siege of Canterlot was started as a result of discourse surrounding Fall of Equestria, which Orchard investigated for a video that was since shelved. Being thoroughly disgusted by the fanwork, which amounted to very poorly written setups for the sake of misogynistic fetish fuel, Orchard set about designing a story mercilessly tearing it and it's creator to pieces. Over time, The Siege of Canterlot began to include deconstructions of the brony fandom as a whole and even Friendship is Magic itself. The Siege of Canterlot has been in development purgatory for four years, taking a back seat to Orchard's professional obligations and being restarted on two different occasions. Orchard has taken to writing one-off vignettes set during the war, with the final book looking to be a relatively episodic story. Continuity Having to juggle three different properties, the Siege of Canterlot takes a number of creative liberties with the continuity of each universe. Tale of the Valkyrie's continuity takes priority over Friendship is Magic or Fall of Equestria. Notable changes include... Friendship is Magic *Much of the series past the end of Season Five is omitted with the exception of Flurry Heart. *Starlight Glimmer is canonically dead. *Time dilation has been split, resulting in numerous chronological changes. Particularly the time between Season 5 and the story have been almost thirty years. Character elements have been spread out over those years resulting in a much wider age range for the characters. For example, the Tale of the Valkyrie character Sunrise Sparkle is 23, while the canon Flurry Heart is 15. *Old Equestria is much less utopic than in canon. Fall of Equestria *The caribou have been renamed The Stonehoof Tribe. *The Stonehoof Tribe's seemingly "ubermensch" nature has been rewritten to be something they only believe due to Equestria's refusal to fight invaders. *Many canonical "red collars" (Equestrian women who have submitted willingly and eagerly to Stonehoof rule) are re-characterized as making the best of a bad situation.